PORTLAND (WGME) – The future of a large new concert venue planned for Portland remains up in the air as the city debates an ordinance change that would block the planned Live Nation venue.
The city’s current ordinance requires a 100-foot buffer between entertainment venues.
Tuesday night, a council committee debated possibly expanding that buffer to 750 feet for venues that can hold more than 1,000 people.
That new buffer would make it impossible for Live Nation to build at its proposed location, because it’s less than a block away from Merrill Auditorium at Portland City Hall.
Councilors remain split on the option.
“I feel like we are assuming that there’s a limited amount of demand for entertainment, but in reality, multiple venues in close proximity could create a kind of synergy,” Portland City Councilor Kate Sykes said.
The committee didn’t make a decision on whether to send the proposal to the full city council.
